Drafting board cabinet



Dec. 6, 1960 F. c. BREUNING DRAFTING BOARD CABINET 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed Oct. 14, 1957 Fla. 2.

m m E V W.

FRANK C. BREUNING m p n w a w 3 N F Dec; 6, 1960 F. c. BREUNING2,953,332

4 DRAFTINGBOARD CABINET Filed Oct. 14, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 9

INVENTOR.

FRANK C. BREUNING BYW a ATTORNEYS DRAFIING BOARD CABINET Frank C.Brenning, 410 S. Hanser Blvd., Los Angeles, Calif.

Filed Oct. 14, 1957, Ser. No. 689,976

2 Claims. (Cl. 312-231) This invention relates generally to draftingoperations and more particularly to a novel drafting structure andassociated working implements in combination with a cabinet.

Drafting boards and stools are often provided as completely constructedunits and require a relatively large space in a room. While manydrafting tables include drawers and the like, some of the bulkierinstruments such as T-squares cannot be readily accommodated therein.Further, these tables usually include a fluorescent type lamp which isclamped to a side edge of the table. The entire assembly is relativelybulky and hardly aesthetic. For persons who draft as a hobby or whoconduct their business at home, conventional drafting tables andassociated equipment now on the market are hardly satisfactory.

It is a primary object of the present invention, accordingly, to providea neat appearing cabinet which may be completely closed and is of thesize of a conventional buffet, and yet which may be opened up to providea complete drafting table which may be folded out therefrom togetherwith all associated equipment including a light and stool.

Another object is to provide a composite drafting board cabinet whichfurther includes various features for accommodating different draftinginstruments and facilitating drafting operations in general.

These and many other objects and advantages of the present invention areattained, briefly, by providing a cabinet structure including a rearwall, a floor, and two forwardly projecting side walls secured to thefloor and provided with a cover member hinged to the top edge of therear wall. A pair of half doors are hinged, respectively, to the forwardfront edges of the side walls to swing towards each other into co-planarposition to close the cabinet.

Within the cabinet, there is provided a drafting board coupled to therear wall by a bracket locking means whereby the board may be swung froma substantially vertical position to an inclined working position. Also,included within the cabinet is a folding stool structure which may beswung outwardly from the floor into a working position with respect tothe drafting board. A suitable light is coupled to the underside of thecover and arranged to be folded outwardly upon opening of the cover andarranged to be folded outwardly upon opening of the cover to provideproper illumination. The inside surfaces of the front half doors includesuitable miniature folding tables and shelves which may be swungoutwardly to provide an increased working area. The shelf portionsinclude pockets and the like for receiving ink bottles and some draftinginstruments. A further feature of the cabinet is the provision ofmagnetic means for holding the front half doors in open position so thatall drafting instruments are readily available to one using the table.

A better understanding of the various features of the drafting tablecabinet will be had by referring to a pre- 2,963,332 Patented Dec. 6,1960 ferred embodiment thereof as illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of the cabinet in open position with someof the components illustrated in phantom line;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the cabinet with the cover eliminated toillustrate interior portions thereof;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 illustrating the locking bracketmechanism in position for supporting the drafting board;

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view of a portion of thelocking bracket mechanism for the drafting board;

Figure 5 is an enlarged plan view of a portion of the bracket structureillustrated in Figure 4;

Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view of part of the lampstructure secured to the cover of the cabinet of Figure 1;

Figure 7 is a plan view of a portion of the structure illustrated inFigure 6;

Figure 8 illustrates a folding structure for the stool employed with thedrafting board of this invention; and.

Figure 9 illustrates the stool of Figure 8 in folded position.

Referring first to Figure 1, the drafting board cabinet comprises a rearwall 10 and first and second forwardly projecting side walls 11 and 12.The lower edges of the rear wall and side walls are secured to a floor13. A cover 14 is hinged at 15 to the upper edge of the rear wall 10 asshown.

Also included in the cabinet structure are first and second half frontdoors 16 and 17 hinged to the front vertical edges of the side walls asat 18 and 19 for swinging movement into a co-planar position to closethe front of the cabinet. Secured to the rear wall of the interior ofthe cabinet are first and second locking brackets 20 and 21 supporting atie rod 22. These locking brackets and tie rod are adapted to co-operatewith a pair of support arms 23 and 24 pivoted to pivot blocks 25 and 26in turn secured to the rear wall 1% respectively below the first andsecond locking brackets 20 and 21. The supporting arm 23 andcorresponding pivot block 25 is best seen in Figure 2. Also provided arediagonal braces 27 and 28 extending from the arms 23 and 24 to besecured there The inside of the front half doors 16 and 17 are providedwith miniature folding tables 30 and 31 supported by collapsible braces32 and 33. The miniature table 30 is hinged to a shelf 34 which mayinclude a slot for supporting a T-square 35. The miniature table 31 ishinged to a shelf 36 which may include suitable openings or pockets 37for receiving ink bottles and the like. Also illustrated on the insideof the half door 17 is a receptacle 3% defining an upper opening 39 forreceiving one or more drafting triangles.

As best seen with respect to the half door 17, there is provided amagnet 40 in the adjacent front edge portion of the side wall 12 and aniron slug 41 imbedded in the rear edge of the half door such that whenthe door is swung to a completely open position such as illustrated forthe half door 16, the door will be held in this position by attractionof the iron slug 41 and magnet 40.

Still referring to Figure 1, the cabinet also incorporates a foldingstool structure including a pivot bar 42 mounted for rotation between apair of journal blocks 43 and 44,

secured to the floor 13. A guide rod 45 extends from the central portionof the pivot rod 42 and is connected at its other end to an axle rod 46.Axle rod 46 may include rollers or small wheels 47 and 48. A pair ofsupport rods 49 and 50 arranged to rotate on the ends of the axle rod 46extend upwardly to support a stool seat shown in phantom line at 51. Asuitable diagonal brace 52 extends from the seat 51 down to a collar 53adapted to slide on the guide bar 45. The arrangement, as will bedescribed in detail subsequently, is such that the pivot bar 42 may berotated within the journal blocks 43 and 44 to fold the stool structureWithin the cabinet.

Secured to the underside of the top cover 14 is a lamp supportingstructure comprising a bracket member 54 and guide bracket 55horizontally spaced for supporting a lamp illustrated in phantom linesat 56.

Referring now in detail to the various features of the invention, thetie rod 22 illustrated best in the plan view of Figure 2 includes a pairof plates 57 and S rigidly secured to the tie rod in correspondingspaced relationship with respect to the locking brackets Zil and 21. Asshown, these plates 57 and 58 include laterally projecting pins 59 and60 running substantially parallel to the tie rod 22. The lockingbrackets 20 and 21 themselves each include a pair of forwardlyprojecting flanges such as illustrated at 20' and 20" for the lockingbracket 20 having transverse bores passing therethrough in directionsparallel to the rear wall 10. As shown, the tie rod 22 passes throughthe aligned bores closest to the rear wall in each of the bracketswhereas the pins 59 and 69 are adapted to pass through the second one ofthe corresponding bores. The tie rod is thus mounted for horizontallongitudinal movement through the brackets. Suitable stops 61 and 62 areprovided on the tie rod 22 and bufiing springs 63 and 64 are positionedbetween the stops and the corresponding brackets such that thehorizontal movement of the tie rod 22 is limited.

Such horizontal movement of the tie rod 22 is effected by means of anoperating rod 65 running forwardly and rearwardly adjacent the left sidewall of the cabinet terminating in its free end in a handle 66. Theinner end of the operating rod 65 is coupled through a connecting link67 to the tie rod 22. The arrangement is such that upon rotation of theoperating rod 65 in a clockwise direction as viewed from the front, thetie rod 22 will be moved horizontally to the right to cause the pins 59and 60 to project into the second pair of aligned bores in the brackets20 and 21 as shown in Figure 3.

As best illustrated in the detailed views of Figures 4 and 5, it will benoted that with the tie rod 22 and pins 59 and 60 in the positionillustrated in Figure 2, the drafting board 29 may be swung upwardlysuch that the supporting arm 23 passes in between the flanges 20' and20" of the locking bracket 20. It will, be noted in Figure 4particularly that the supporting arm 23 is provided with a transversebore 69 positioned to register with the outer bores in the bracket 20such that when the drafting board is moved to the dotted line positionillustrated in Figure 4, the supporting arm 23 is received between theflanges and the bore 69 registers with the bores in the flanges. In suchposition the horizontal tie rod 22 may be moved horizontally to theright such that the pin 59 passes through these registered openings tosecurely lock the supporting arm 23 in the dotted line position. In suchposition, the drafting board 29 is at a properly inclined working angle.The butting springs 63 and 64- illustrated in Figure 2 tend to bias thepins 59 and 60 into the registered openings.

To fold down the drafting table 29, it is necessary to exert manualpressure to rotate the operating rod 65 in a counter-clockwise directionas viewed in Figure 5 to pull the tie rod 22 to the left and thus removethe pins 59 and 60 from the registered bores. While manually held inthis position, the drafting table may be folded downwardly about thepivot blocks 25 and 26. The en- 4 tire arrangement is extremely sturdyand simple to operate.

Referring now to Figure 6, the coupling bracket member 54 for supportingthe light 56 to the underside of the cover 14 will be described. Asshown, the bracket member 54 includes a forwardly projecting flange 7 0having a transverse bore 71 and a square laterally projecting ledge 72.This ledge 72 is illustrated in Figure l in perspective. A lamp supportrod 73 as shown in Figure 6 extends from the lamp 56 towards the bracketmember 54 and is thence turned in inwardly as at 74 to project throughthe bore 71. A portion of this supporting rod 73 adjacent the bent endis arranged to rest on the top surface 75 of the ledge 72 as illustratedin Figure 6 when the cover is open whereby the lamp 56 is held in aconvenient position for providing proper illumination.

When it is desired to fold the lamp out of position, the entire lampstructure and support rod 73 may be moved to the left as illustrated inFigure 1 or out of the plane of the drawing of Figure 6 until the pin 74is moved partially outwardly through the bore 71. The far end of thelamp 56 includes an end rod which simply slides back and forth in thesupport bracket at the right of the lamp in Figure l. The distance thatthe lamp is moved horizontally need just be sufiicient to enable theportion of the support rod 73 to clear the top 75 of the projectingledge 72 after which the lamp may be swung downwardly about the bentportion 74 as a pivot. After the lamp is swung downwardly to the dottedline position illustrated in Figure 6, the pin 74- may be urged backinto the opening 71 whereby a portion of the support rod 73 now restsagainst the inner side 76 of the ledge .and thus the structure is heldagainst the underside of the cover 14 when the latter is in closedposition. By this arrangement, it is a simple matter to swing the lampoutwardly upon opening of the cover to position it well over thedrafting board and thus insure proper lighting.

Figures 8 and 9 illustrate in detail the folding structure for enablingthe stool or seat to be folded within the cabinet. As shown, the upperends of the supporting arms such as the arm 49 of Figure 8 terminates ina flat plate 77 hinged to an upper plate 78 as at 79. The seat 51 itselfis secured directly to the upper plate 78. By this arrangement, it willbe noted that by releasing a small catch 80, the collar 53 on the end ofthe diagonal brace 52 may be moved along the guide bar 45 to partiallycollapse the seat structure as illustrated in dotted lines in Figure 8.Further movement of the diagonal 52 and collar 53 to the inner end ofthe guide bar 45 then positions the seat to enable the entire structureto be pivoted with the pivot rod about the journal blocks such as theblock 43 to the position illustrated in Figure 9. The provision of thehinged plates 77 and 78 enables the seat 51 to in turn assume a flatposition against the rear wall it) as illustrated in Figure 9.

From the foregoing description, it will be evident that the presentinvention provides a rugged and simply operated portable drafting boardcabinet combination in which all of the essential elements for executingdrawings are readily available to the user. When not in use, on theother hand, the completely closed cabinet presents a pleasing appearanceand will not appear out of place in a residential dwelling.

Various modifications that fall within the scope and spirit of thepresent invention will occur to those skilled in the art. The inventionis, therefore, not to be thought of as limited specifically to thedetailed structures set forth for illustrative purposes.

What is claimed is:

1. A drafting board cabinet comprising, in combination: a rear wall; twoside walls projecting forwardly from the vertical edges of said rearwall; a floor secured to the bottom edges of said rear and side walls; acover hinged to the top edge of said rear walls; a pair of front halfdoors hinged to the respective front vertical edges of said walls forswinging movement towards each other into a co-planar position to closethe front of said cabinet; a drafting board disposed in said cabinet ina substantially vertical position; locking support means coupling saiddrafting board for arcuate swinging movement from said vertical positionto an inclined working position after said front half doors have beenswung to open position, said locking support means comprising first andsecond locking brackets secured to said rear wall in horizontally spacedrelationship, each of said brackets including a pair of forwardlyextending flanges having first and second aligned bores passingtherethrough in a direction parallel to said rear wall; a horizontal tierod passing through two first corresponding bores in said flangeswhereby said tie rod is guided for horizontal longitudinal movementparal lel to said rear wall; first and second plates secured to said tierod at corresponding spaced positions with respect to said first andsecond brackets; pins projecting in directions parallel to said tie rodfrom said plates in spaced positions with respect to said tie rod to bereceived into and out of the two second corresponding bores in saidflanges upon horizontal movement of said tie rods; first and secondpivot blocks secured to said rear wall at respective positions belowsaid first and second brackets; and support arms pivoted at their rearends to said pivot blocks and secured at their forward ends to theunderside of said drafting board, said support arms having transversebores passing therethrough and positioned to be received between saidfirst and second pairs of flanges and register with the two secondcorresponding bores in said flanges upon swinging movement of said armsupwardly about said pivot blocks, said pins being adapted to passthrough the register bores whereby said drafting board is locked inworking position.

2. A drafting board cabinet comprising, in combina tion: a rear wall;two sidewalls projecting forward from the vertical edges of said rearwalls; a floor secured to the bottom edges of said rear and sidewalls; acover hinged to the top edge of said rear wall; a pair of front halfdoors hinged to the respective front vertical edges of said walls forswinging movement towards each other to a co-planar position to closethe front of said cabinet; a drafting board disposed in said cabinet ina substantially vertical position; locking support means coupling saiddrafting board for arcuate swinging movement from said vertical positionto an inclined working position after said front half doors have beenswung to open position, said locking support means comprising first andsecond locking brackets secured to said rear wall in horizontally spacedrelationship, each of said brackets including a pair of forwardlyextending flanges having first and second retaining openings passingtherethrough in a direction parallel to said rear wall; first and secondpivot blocks secured to said rear wall at respective positions belowsaid first and second brackets; support arms pivoted at their rear endsto said pivot blocks and secured at their forward ends to the undersideof said drafting board, said support arms being positioned to besandwiched between said first and second pairs of flanges; andtransverse retaining means cooperating with said arms and flanges sothat said retaining means can be registered with said retaining openingsin said flanges upon swinging movement of said arms upwardly about saidpivot blocks, whereby said drafting board is locked in working position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D.164,141 Stahl July 31, 1951 1,055,884 Davidson Mar. 11, 1913 1,568,498Caliver Jan. 5, 1926 2,087,695 Miller July 20, 1937 2,514,927 BernhardJuly 11, 1950 2,547,808 Burrage Apr. 3, 1951 2,552,434 Klapman May 8,1951 2,678,252 Swearingen May 11, 1954 2,739,863 Ferris Mar. 27, 19562,758,900 Marchand Aug. 14, 1956 2,808,308 Papelian et al. Oct. 1, 1957FOREIGN PATENTS 806,138 Germany June 11, 1951

